Before Hamas’ attack on October 7, justice reform promoted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had divided Israel, and large protests across the country had also pitted a significant part of the army against the government. The divisions were put on hold because of the horrors of terrorism and the war in Gaza. However, a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court brought the debate to the surface again and dealt Netanyahu a heavy political blow.
Constitutional judges actually rejected the law regarding the so-called reasonableness clause, which in a way formed the basis of the prime ministerial reform. This clause requires government actions to be reasonable and proportionate. The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, had passed a law effectively banning all courts, including the Supreme Court, from reviewing government actions on the basis of this legal standard.
The centre-right’s response was immediate. Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the chief architect of the controversial reform, accused the judges of “taking all power into their own hands”: He added that the court’s decision “will not stop us”. Some members of Netanyahu’s Likud party objected to the timing of the sentence, which came at a time when the war in Gaza was still ongoing.
In reality, the judges did not want to speed up the process: numerous previews of the sentence have appeared in the media in recent days, forcing the Supreme Court to make a statement. According to Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, the sentence “puts an end to a difficult year of conflict that tore us apart from within and led to the worst disaster in our history, namely the attack on October 7, according to many observers.” He sided with the mistakes of the Netanyahu government, which focused on justice reform rather than the country’s security.
IDF and Israeli armed forces spokesman Daniel Hagari also made this clear in recent hours: “The division in society” caused by the justice reform “is likely to have influenced Hamas” in its decision to attack Israel. Hagari announced at a press conference.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
